Is Paypal a safe?

[bomberman]

I'm trying to sell a computer I built and the person is offering to pay me via pay pal. Is this a smart way to do it? Are there any risks I should be worried about?

[daboggeyman]

 I've used PayPal for about 10 years with no problem just make sure you get paid 1st. PP is a direct deposit method of payment so if you have a bank account you account is credited with in moments of the payment being sent.  Hope this helps bomberman

[bomberman]

There's no way they could try to retract a deposit to my paypal account at all? I am just skeptical of this person's intentions. I am using craigslist to sell it, i would obviously prefer cash, but if it's safe then I wouldn't mind.

[bomberman]

Here is the email I recieved:

Thanks for the fast response,i will like to buy this item as
birthday gift for my son who is based in west coast Africa with his
company,while browsing i saw what you have for sale and felt it
would be a good gift.I am willing to offer $1200 for it
including shipping cost via USPS{ems}express mail.i will like to pay with PayPal
because it is the safest and fastest means of online payment  So get
back to me with your PayPal id and full name so i can make the payment asap.
Kindly let me know what you think about this.
 Hope to read from you soon
 thanks

[daboggeyman]

Wooooa craigslist ! That's a different ball of wax and reading what you posted from the other party sounds like one of craigslist scam artist. I believe I would leave that alone bomberman.  

[daboggeyman]

Wooooa craigslist ! That's a different ball of wax and reading what you posted from the other party sounds like one of craigslist scam artist. I believe I would leave that alone bomberman.  

 Never , never fall for that line via craigslist Bomberman I can assure you most the time it is a scam artist on the other end .

[bomberman]

Yeah, I figured that 90% are scam artists. I was just hoping to find someone out there honest enough. Trying to come up with the cash for house appraisal and inspection on a house I am trying to buy...

[k64]

PayPal Freezes Sellers Account!

Always use a separate bank account when dealing w/ PayPal! 
Why take a chance? It could happen to U!

[Phuncz]

When someone from another continent wants to buy a expensive piece of hardware from you, 99% of the time it's a scam.

[Intuit]

I've known PayPal to blindside me with fees weeks after selling something.  The policy is both meant to encourage ongoing selling, and to hide the fact that bottom line profit isn't worth selling the occasional <$20 knick-knack items.  You may get hit with massive bank overdraft fees for unexpected deductions.

I would NEVER trust them with my bank account, debit or bankccard information.  They have none of the protections that full blown credit cards have.  

If you've given them that info already, close that bank account and open another.  With PayPal or any other online entity, use actual credit cards (not bankcards) only.

With most electronic transactions there is a time-period for verification where that transaction can be canceled/reversed.  Thieves know this and take advantage of the system.  You'd have to look up the rules on that and ensure that the funds remain on the account beyond that period.  The verification period is much longer with international transactions.  Only then would you be able to ship.  Otherwise you could be gypped; funds show up in the account, you see it and ship it, then whatever time later the funds disappear.  Same can (and has) happen with checks.

BTW, never trust anyone with your bank account number.  Doesn't matter whether it's your utility company, or credit card company.  They have your bank account and routing number, they can deduct funds at their whim, and without any (real) authorization from the account holder what-so-ever.  It's worse than handing them a blank-check; more like handing them a book of blank-checks.

If you need to recover funds that have been deposited into a Paypal account, have them mail you a check.

[k64]

Good Advice!

Check Cards/Bankcards are bad news it even gets worse when RFID Chips are added to them.  Criminals within a 69 foot radios can rob you blind and you want know it until later!

How to block/kill RFID chips!

[hugh]

Personally i'd say it's not safe. I removed an account and card andthe works from my account, all documented with email verifications, so that only my bank and cards were attached to my paypal account. A few years down the line and an ebay purchase was randomly charged to the card and account that had been deleted a year or so previous, even upon looking at the transaction details you could not then link back to the account and card to then delete it. Paypal being paypal they naturally completely ignored my questions on how they happened to still have all the bank account details despite them being deleted years previous.

I also bought a graphics card a bit back that was faulty, i opened up a claim and whatnot through paypal as they'd stated i was proteted and blah, never heard a thing they never felt like chasing it up or owt.

[zerotol]

personally i dont use it, but ive heard friend complain about it.

Especially about accounts bein blocked for a long long time ive a problem surfaces with sold products (for which you received money)